Archived press release

Road-charging must cut traffic and pollution

9 June 2005

Road-pricing does have a role to play in tackling congestion on the nation's roads, but it must be part of a strategy to reduce road-traffic, cut transport's contribution to climate change and to encourage motorists to drive more fuel-efficient vehicles, Friends of the Earth said today.

The environmental campaign group said that the introduction of road-pricing, proposed today in a speech by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling, must not replace existing road-taxes, which are needed to encourage fuel-efficient vehicles and discourage gas-guzzlers. Friends of the Earth also warned that action is needed now to tackle rising traffic levels, and its growing contribution to climate change.

Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to introduce a new climate change law to force the Government to take responsibility for the UK's contribution to global warming by reducing carbon
dioxide emissions by three per cent every year. More information at www.thebigask.com

Friends of the Earth says (more details in briefing, below):

• Road pricing should be introduced as part of a package of traffic reduction measures
• Road pricing should be actively designed to cut carbon dioxide emissions from transport
• Road pricing should be used to raise the overall cost of motoring
• Road pricing should be introduced on existing roads - new capacity is not needed
• Further private toll roads and motorways should be ruled out

Traffic facts and figures

• The latest Government figures, published earlier this year, revealed that motoring costs fell by six per cent in real terms since Labour came to power in 1997 and 2004, and that they fell by 11 per cent between 1975 and 2004. The cost of travelling by bus and train rose over the same periods [1].
• Road transport is currently responsible for around 22 per cent of UK carbon dioxide emissions, and that level is expected to rise.
• Traffic levels have risen under Labour, despite a promise by Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, to reduce them [2]. Traffic levels are now about ten per cent higher than when Labour came to power in 1997.
• According to latest figures sales of gas-guzzling vehicles, including 4x4s, have increased, while sales of more fuel efficient vehicles have fallen
• Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to increase VED on gas-guzzling vehicles, and cut it on more fuel efficient models [3].

Notes

1. Hansard: PQ by Norman Baker 24 February 2005. also:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1426363,00.html

2. www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/transport/news/prescott/

3. Car eco-labels welcomed - but tougher taxes for gas -guzzlers still needed

Background

In July 2003, the Government set up a feasibility study bringing together academics and representatives of the motoring lobby, the freight industry and environmental groups. The role of this group was to advise on whether and how road pricing might work, not whether it should be implemented. The feasibility study report was published in July 2004 alongside the White Paper `The Future of Transport'. It concluded that national road pricing could meet the Government's objectives of more efficient pricing; fairness, respect for privacy and promoting social inclusion and accessibility; higher economic growth and productivity for all regions of the UK; and environmental benefits. Its modelling showed that "a carefully constructed national scheme … has the potential to reduce urban congestion by nearly half, through an overall reduction in urban traffic levels of only 4 per cent, as well as providing significant environmental benefits in terms of air quality, noise and severance" (Summary paragraph 14) The economic benefits of the reduced congestion could amount to £12 billion a year (Summary paragraph 19). Among the study's recommendations were that the Government should:

Last month Mr Darling reiterated in an interview with the Financial Times on May 4^th 2005 that "there is no way we can build our way out of the problems we face" and, speaking of road pricing, said that "there has to be a strategic decision in the next two to three years as to whether this works".

Given the timescales needed to introduce road pricing, a cross-party consensus would be needed to ensure that plans were not shelved by a future Government of a different political complexion. Shadow Transport Secretary Alan Duncan has commented that "attempts to cut congestion are always welcome. Any new scheme should not be a vehicle for more stealth taxes". The Liberal Democrats support road pricing, and transport spokesman Tom Brake has commented that it "could be the solution to crippling congestion but it will be rejected if it is simply another Labour stealth tax".

Existing road pricing schemes in the UK

There are a number of road pricing schemes currently in operation in the UK, although none of them charges by distance, as is planned for the national scheme.

• London's congestion charging scheme was introduced in February 2003. Since its introduction, traffic levels inside the charging zone have fallen by 18% and congestion levels by 30%. Bus patronage has also risen significantly.
• Durham has a small-scale local charging scheme controlling access to the city's cathedral and castle. Traffic levels in the controlled area have fallen by 85% since the scheme started in October 2002
• Britain's only private toll motorway, the M6 Toll north of Birmingham, opened in December 2003. It is too early to say how effective the M6 Toll has been in tackling congestion on the M6. The first Highways Agency study carried out covered only three months and painted a mixed picture with rising traffic levels on the M6 Toll, traffic reductions on the M6 and time savings on through journeys. However analysis shows that the picture is much less encouraging than is presented: benefits to users of the M6 have been slight and are already being eroded by traffic growth. There has also been some release of suppressed demand from within the conurbation. A second report into the impacts of the M6 Toll, after a further 12 months, on the West Midlands road networks is currently being prepared by the Highways Agency.
• Plans for congestion charging in Edinburgh were decisively rejected in a referendum in February 2005, with almost three-quarters of voters opposing the proposals

M6 Expressway

Last year the Government consulted on proposals for a further private tolled motorway - the M6 Expressway - running parallel to the existing M6 between the West Midlands and Birmingham. This, it said, was to provide road users with the choice of whether to use the existing M6 or pay for a faster, more reliable journey on the new road. Friends of the Earth strongly opposed the plans, saying that the M6 Expressway:

• was not needed, as that stretch of the M6 was not badly congested;
• would not provide any choice for people without cars;
• would encourage people to travel further, leading to more climate change emissions;
• would not benefit the regional economy; and
• represented the `wrong sort of road pricing'

Responses to the consultation are reported to have been 18 to 1 against the proposal. Mr Darling could use his speech to announce the Government's response to this consultation.

Lorry Road User Charging

The Government has already announced that Lorry Road User Charging will be introduced at the start of 2008. This will be similar to nationwide road pricing for cars in that charges will be levied on the basis of distance travelled, but differs in its purpose, which is to level the playing field between UK and foreign hauliers. UK hauliers claim they are at a disadvantage compared to their foreign rivals who can fill up outside the UK where diesel is cheaper. All lorries will pay the same rate of charge, but there will be a reduction in fuel duty for hauliers using fuel purchased and paid for in the UK.

Friends of the Earth's views

Friends of the Earth supports the principle of road pricing, and believes that:

• Roadpricing should be introduced as part of a package of traffic reduction measures
• Road pricing should be actively designed to cut carbon dioxide emissions from transport

  Road pricing is currently discussed mainly as a way of tackling congestion, but it is critical that any system should be actively designed to cut carbon dioxide emissions from road transport. Road transport is currently responsible for around 22% of UK emissions of carbon dioxide, the main gas causing climate change. The failure to get a grip on transport emissions is one of the main reasons why the Government looks set to miss its domestic target to reduce UK carbon dioxide emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2010.Transport emissions are forecast to rise in coming years because of continuing traffic growth, and policies to address this will be essential if the Government is to reduce overall carbon dioxide emissions by 3% a year, as Friends of the Earth believes is necessary.

• Road pricing should be used to raise the overall cost of motoring

  Since 1997, the cost of motoring has fallen in real terms by 6.6% while rail fares have risen by nearly 4% and bus fares by over 10%. Research from IPPR has shown that a revenue-neutral charging scheme under which charges are offset by cuts in fuel duty would lead to a 5% increase in emissions of carbon dioxide from road transport (because the cut in fuel duty would make driving cheaper on less congested roads); whereas a revenue-raising scheme under which charges are added to existing motoring costs would lead to a fall of over 8%. This indicates that any road pricing scheme must raise the overall cost of motoring.

• Road pricing should be introduced on existing roads - new capacity is not needed

  Road-building is not the solution to the UK's transport problems, and that large-scale additional road capacity is not needed. Charging, if it is introduced, should be for existing roads and should be variable depending on location time of day and public transport choices on offer.

• Further private toll roads and motorways should be ruled out

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust